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Melissa Cunningham

Melissa Cunningham

Melissa Cunningham is a health reporter for The Age. She has previously covered crime and justice.

Stacey Warnecke died in September after giving birth at home.

Newborn cries, quiet groans: The Triple Zero call as influencer lay dying after ‘free birth’

In the months before her son, Axel, was born, Stacey Warnecke expressed a deep fear of birth trauma and was adamant she wanted to have her baby on her own terms.

  • Melissa Cunningham

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Lauren Linton, 17, and Kyra Prosser, 18.

Young teens risk mental health harm after one year of social media use

A study that tracked teenagers for a decade found a decline in their wellbeing from time online – but it also provides a critical window for intervention.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Vaccination rates fall.

‘Really urgent’: Teen vaccine rates tumble, leaving cancer elimination in doubt

Australia’s ambitious goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035 is under threat amid a worrying decline in HPV vaccinations across the country.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Cheryl Priest was diagnosed with pancreatic and lung cancer in 2021. She wonders if she would have been diagnosed earlier if she hadn’t skipped routine blood checks.

During COVID, Cheryl skipped tests. Then a ‘fake tan’ comment forced her to the GP

Oncologists are warning of waves of recurrent cancers due to later-stage diagnoses following the pandemic.

  • Henrietta Cook and Melissa Cunningham
Dr Brendan Morrissey Dr Jacqueline Maplesden with a special interest in toxicology

Rise of supersized ‘nangs’ linked to deaths, paralysis and brain injuries

Increasing numbers of Victorians are being left with permanent spinal and neurological injuries, life-threatening complications and severe burns linked to inhaling nitrous oxide.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Tamara Macpherson faced thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Tamara was grappling with a cancer diagnosis. Then came the $35,000 in medical bills

The first financial shock was the out-of-pocket expenses during the diagnostic phase. Then came the bills for four operations.

  • Melissa Cunningham
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Baby R, as the infant was referred to during the coronial inquest last year, died from perinatal hypoxia in August 2022, after he was delivered during an emergency caesarean at Bendigo Hospital.

Baby R died after a disastrous home birth. Coroner says midwives provided ‘deficient’ care

Two private midwives waited too long to transfer a mother to hospital in Bendigo, starving her newborn of oxygen and causing his death six days after an emergency caesarean.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Carolyn McGrath was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2014. After stem cell treatment and chemotherapy, she went into remission, but years later the cancer returned. Thanks to advancements in immunotherapy she is back in remission.

Carolyn was on the brink of death. Her recovery has doctors ‘shooting for a cure’

The grandmother went through years of gruelling treatments, but the blood cancer always came back. Then a new drug trialled in Melbourne saved her life.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Jacinta Allan and Gabrielle Williams at the opening of the Metro Tunnel.

Labor and police clash over reporting ‘semantics’ of alleged $6m scam

The government and Victoria Police are at loggerheads over whether transport officials formally reported a major fraud allegedly attempted by a Metro Tunnel contractor. 

  • Patrick Hatch and Melissa Cunningham
Victorians are landing in emergency departments after suffering severe side effects linked to illegal peptide use.

Amputations, heart attacks, days of vomiting: The horror toll of ‘backyard’ peptides

Victorians are taking peptides for everything from weight loss and body building to skin improvements. Many end up in hospitals with severe side effects.

  • Melissa Cunningham and Henrietta Cook